Reading List

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Notes: - Read with a question in mind?

Questions:

  • What are the key theories in international development?
  • How do different theories explain the causes of poverty and inequality?
  • What are the key debates in the field of international development?

1. Classical Economics

  • Smith, A. (1776). The Wealth of Nations: Foundational text for classical economics, focusing on free markets, division of labor, and the “invisible hand.”
  • Ricardo, D. (1817). The Principles of Political Economy and Taxation: Key text in classical economics, discussing comparative advantage and trade.
  • Mill, J.S. (1848). Principles of Political Economy: An important synthesis of classical economics, bridging the works of Smith and Ricardo with social philosophy.

2. Political Economy and Critique of Capitalism

  • Marx, K. (1973). Capital: A Critique of Political Economy: Marx’s analysis of capitalism, focusing on class struggle, labor value, and exploitation.
  • Polanyi, K. (1957). The Great Transformation: Critique of market society and its social and political impacts.
  • Veblen, T. (1899). The Theory of the Leisure Class: A critique of consumerism and capitalism, introducing the concept of “conspicuous consumption.”
  • Lenin, V.I. (1917). Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism: Marxist analysis of capitalism’s expansion through imperialism.

3. Economic Growth and Development

  • Schumpeter, J. (1934). The Theory of Economic Development: Focus on innovation, entrepreneurship, and their roles in economic growth.
  • Rostow, W.W. (1960). The Stages of Economic Growth: A Non-Communist Manifesto: A theory of economic modernization and development.

4. Population and Resource Economics

  • Malthus, T. (1798). An Essay on the Principle of Population: Early work on population dynamics and resource scarcity.
  • George, H. (1879). Progress and Poverty: Examines the relationship between economic progress, poverty, and land ownership, advocating a land value tax.

5. Modern Economic Thought

  • Keynes, J. M. (1936). The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money: Groundbreaking work in macroeconomics, introducing concepts like aggregate demand and government intervention.
  • Friedman, M. (1962). Capitalism and Freedom: Advocates for free markets and critiques government intervention, foundational for neoliberal thought.
  • Samuelson, P.A. (1947). Foundations of Economic Analysis: Establishes mathematical foundations for modern economics.
  • Hayek, F.A. (1944). The Road to Serfdom: Critique of central planning and defense of free-market liberalism.

6. Historical and Institutional Economics

  • Weber, M. (1905). The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism: Explores the cultural and religious origins of capitalism.
  • Galbraith, J.K. (1958). The Affluent Society: Critique of postwar consumerism and a call for public investment.

7. Macroeconomics and Monetary Theory

  • Keynes, J.M. (1936). The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money: Though published in the interwar period, it profoundly shaped post-war macroeconomics.
  • Samuelson, P.A. (1947). Foundations of Economic Analysis: Introduced mathematical rigor to economics, emphasizing optimization and equilibrium.
  • Friedman, M. (1968). A Monetary History of the United States: A landmark work in monetarism, advocating the importance of monetary policy.
  • Lucas, R.E. (1976). Studies in Business Cycle Theory: Laid the foundation for rational expectations and modern macroeconomic modeling.

8. Microeconomics and Game Theory

  • von Neumann, J. & Morgenstern, O. (1944). Theory of Games and Economic Behavior: The foundational text of game theory.
  • Debreu, G. (1959). Theory of Value: Introduced general equilibrium theory using formal mathematics.
  • Becker, G.S. (1976). The Economic Approach to Human Behavior: Extended economic analysis to areas like education, family, and crime.

9. Development Economics

  • Sen, A. (1981). Poverty and Famines: Introduced the capabilities approach, shifting the focus of development from income to well-being.
  • Lewis, W.A. (1954). Economic Development with Unlimited Supplies of Labor: A key text in development economics, explaining the dual-sector model.
  • Rostow, W.W. (1960). The Stages of Economic Growth: A theory of economic modernization.

10. Behavioral and Experimental Economics

  • Kahneman, D. & Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk: A foundational paper in behavioral economics.
  • Thaler, R.H. (1991). Quasi-Rational Economics: Explores how psychological factors influence economic decision-making.

11. Institutional and Political Economy

  • North, D.C. (1990). Institutions, Institutional Change, and Economic Performance: A classic in institutional economics, exploring how institutions shape economic outcomes.
  • Ostrom, E. (1990). Governing the Commons: Analyzes how communities manage shared resources without relying on markets or central governments.

12. Inequality and Capitalism

  • Piketty, T. (2013). Capital in the Twenty-First Century: Explores inequality dynamics and the accumulation of wealth.
  • Stiglitz, J.E. (2012). The Price of Inequality: Examines the economic and political consequences of inequality.

13. Environmental and Resource Economics

  • Coase, R.H. (1960). The Problem of Social Cost: Introduced the Coase theorem, a key idea in environmental economics.
  • Solow, R.M. (1956). A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth: Introduced the concept of sustainable economic growth.

14. Other

Introductory and General Overviews

  • Samuelson, P.A. & Nordhaus, W.D. (1948, updated editions). Economics: A classic introductory textbook covering both microeconomics and macroeconomics.
  • Mankiw, N.G. (1998, updated editions). Principles of Economics: A popular textbook with a clear and accessible introduction to core economic principles.
  • Krugman, P. & Wells, R. (2005, updated editions). Economics: Offers a modern perspective with a focus on policy and practical applications.

Historical Perspectives

  • Heilbroner, R. (1953). The Worldly Philosophers: A highly readable history of economic thought, introducing key thinkers like Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes.
  • Backhouse, R.E. (2002). The Penguin History of Economics: Traces the evolution of economic thought from ancient times to the modern day.

Modern Overviews

  • Banerjee, A.V. & Duflo, E. (2019). Good Economics for Hard Times: Provides insights into contemporary economic challenges like inequality, trade, and migration.
  • Acemoglu, D. & Robinson, J. (2012). Why Nations Fail: Examines the role of institutions in shaping economic success and failure.

Behavioral Economics and Decision-Making

  • Thaler, R.H. & Sunstein, C.R. (2008). Nudge: Explores how small interventions can influence economic decision-making.
  • Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow: Examines how cognitive biases affect decisions, including economic choices.

Advanced Surveys

  • Blanchard, O. (2017). Macroeconomics: A comprehensive macroeconomics textbook, often used in advanced undergraduate and graduate courses.
  • Varian, H.R. (1992, updated editions). Microeconomic Analysis: A rigorous treatment of microeconomics for advanced students.
  • Romer, D. (1996, updated editions). Advanced Macroeconomics: Provides deeper insights into macroeconomic theory.

For Critical Perspectives

  • Skidelsky, R. (2009). Keynes: The Return of the Master: Revisits Keynesian economics in light of the global financial crisis.

Questions:

  • What are the essential tools for an economist?
  • What software and programming languages are commonly used in economics?

Software

Data Science and Computational Tools for Economists

  • Wickham, H. & Grolemund, G. (2017). R for Data Science: An excellent introduction to data science workflows and statistical analysis using R, invaluable for economists handling data.

Mathematics

Mathematics for Economics

  • Chiang, A.C. & Wainwright, K. (2005). Fundamental Methods of Mathematical Economics: A widely-used, accessible textbook introducing calculus, linear algebra, and optimization techniques in economic contexts.

Econometrics

Introductory Econometrics

  • Stock, J.H. & Watson, M.W. (2003, updated editions). Introduction to Econometrics: A highly accessible introduction to econometric methods, focusing on real-world applications and intuition.

Intermediate and Applied Econometrics

  • Angrist, J.D. & Pischke, J-S. (2009). Mostly Harmless Econometrics: An Empiricist’s Companion: Focuses on applied econometrics with clear explanations of causal inference techniques.

Advanced Econometrics

  • Hayashi, F. (2000). Econometrics: An excellent resource for graduate-level econometrics, with a rigorous approach to the theoretical foundations.

Causal Inference and Experimental Econometrics

  • Angrist, J.D. & Pischke, J-S. (2014). Mastering ’Metrics: The Path from Cause to Effect: A user-friendly book on causal inference with real-world examples.

Historical and Conceptual Perspectives

  • Hoover, K.D. (2001). Causality in Macroeconomics: Explores the philosophical and econometric foundations of causality.

Questions:

  • What are the key challenges facing China’s development?
  • What made China’s economic growth so successful?
  • What does China’s growth look like in the future?

China’s Global Role

  • Shambaugh, D. (2022). China’s Future: Examines the challenges China faces in its political, economic, and societal development and its potential trajectories.

Development and Inequality

  • Rosling, M. & Rozelle, S. (2020). Invisible China: How the Urban-Rural Divide Threatens China’s Rise: Examines the structural challenges caused by China’s rural-urban divide and the implications for its development.

Politics and Leadership

  • Rudd, K. (2024). On Xi Jinping: Offers a deep dive into Xi Jinping’s leadership and its impact on China’s future.
  • Shum, D. (2021). Red Roulette: An Insider’s Story of Wealth, Power, Corruption, and Vengeance in Today’s China: A gripping insider’s account of wealth, corruption, and politics in modern China.